Tatiana Cheneviere is the founder of Pipeline, a new gallery in the heart of London dedicated to showcasing and nurturing emerging artists. Each is introduced with a single artwork ahead of their exhibition.
Tatiana Cheneviere in London By Alexia Mavroloen
Styling by Chiara di Carcaci
Words by Sophie Goodwin
Who or what inspires you?
People who do unexpected things. I get most of my ideas from artists; the whole premise of Pipeline was inspired by conversations with creatives, their need to slow things down and to give a wider context in their work.
How did it all start?
I grew up around art and people who worked in art. My parents are not collectors, they were both dealers. My father's gallery was the ground floor below the flat where I was born. Home was always covered in beautiful, fragile objects and I was always visiting my parents at fairs as a child so I was pretty used to the art calendar by the time I started to work for a gallery myself.
Favourite room in your home?
I live in an old artist's studio with a large cathedral window. I’m always drawn to the main sitting room, as it's bathed in light and has beautiful high ceilings.
How do you research and plan your work?
I spent several months going to an artist's studio a day before opening the gallery, talking to them about their work and understanding what they were missing. I never do more than one studio visit a day as I try to let those conversations sink in.
Describe your current projects.
Now, the gallery is operating as a split space, there is a main exhibition area and a smaller, enclosed area at the back where I present a single artwork by the artist who is next in the exhibition program. This work is selected by the artist as essential context ahead of their show and celebrates the ever-expanding potential within an artist's practice.
What is your most defining characteristic?
I have been told it’s purposefulness. I try to bring meaning to everything I do, which most recently has been about the exhibitions at Pipeline. The epicentral point of the gallery is to expand on these artists' work and deepen our relationships to them.
Do you have a daily uniform?
At the moment it's a lot of layers because the winter has been so cold in the gallery. I am usually in a shirt with big cuffs otherwise.
What does fashion mean to you?
Clothes can dictate your whole day. If you feel comfortable or powerful in something it affects your mood and your interactions with others.
Whose style do you admire?
Every time I wear something from my mother's wardrobe I get compliments. She had a lot of very beautiful evening coats that I often wear as dresses, in particular a bright red military Ralph Lauren piece.
Last item of clothing you added to your wardrobe?
A vintage dress from Mairead Lewin - she has the best vintage in London. Her place is tucked away in Notting Hill at the top of a large flight of stairs where lies a treasure chest of clothing, waiting to be given a new lease of life.
What is your personal style signifier?
I am most comfortable in androgynous clothing, suits and shirts for example; often poaching things from the men in my family.
What is your most treasured possession?
The few pieces of art I own. Collecting, even in a small way, and actively participating to support artists is an important thing to me. I advise people to pay it forward by putting something small aside every so often, and save up for a meaningful piece.
What would you have been in another life?
A painter probably. I have always been drawn to the sense of accomplishment you get from finishing a work of art, a play or an exhibition.
Which work of art changed everything for you?
Richard Serra's monumental sculpture. It was the moment I first felt physically connected to an artwork. The relationship the viewer has in proximity to the sculpture and the way that it requires you to experience it beyond just a resting place is very eye-opening.
Best book you've read in the past year?
I just finished I Paint What I See by Philip Guston, which was a great way to use a different side of the brain to get stuck into painting.
Where is your happy place?
North Devon where my family have a beach house.
Favourite museum or gallery?
My own.
Rule to live by?
Once you are able to house and feed yourself, everything beyond that should be creative or intellectual gain.
Advice you’d give your teenage self?
I am someone who considers every angle, detail and possible outcome of a scenario I might be in. I would probably advise myself not to do that as the wind can change very quickly.
